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But on Tuesday night she showed some serious acting skills as well as she pretended to be surprised that she won "Dancing With the Stars." Scherzinger, arguably a professional dancer, won what is supposed to be an amateur celebrity dance competition!

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As soon as Scherzinger hit the dance floor at the beginning of its 10th season it was pretty obvious she was going to win it. She was doing splits on the dance floor as octogenarian former astronaut Buzz Aldrin was stumbling around like he was still in space and Pamela Anderson was trying to find a new part of her body to reveal in her skimpy outfit. It wasn't even fair.

The show is supposed to be about watching growth -- watching unpolished dancers gain skills and maybe even inspire folks at home. Say what you want about Kate Gosselin, but at least she was out there hoofin' it every week in a new and alien world. That's what makes watching the show fun.

With Scherzinger, there was no growth. It was like watching Kobe Bryant at a YMCA. Scherzinger is as much a dancer as she is a singer, and the skills are what earn her a living. It's how she started and how she ended. That's why the judges like Carrie Ann Inaba were tripping over themselves to tell her "you're the best dancer we've ever had." Yeah, well.

In most years, Olympic star Evan Lysacek would have been the ringer. As a figure skater, he has had a lifetime of experience at graceful movement and a training ethic to match. But even he usually wears figure skates, so putting him in the competition is reasonably fair.

Scherzinger had no talent gap that I could see. This is why the finals had all the suspense of a professional wrestling match.

Despite the tears, the dried-ice smoke and the drummed-up drama, it was over long before she clutched the coveted dancing-ball trophy. Though it took weeks and maybe a few blisters, Scherzinger won when she entered the field.

Published at 6:53 AM EDT on May 26, 2010 | Updated at 2:46 PM EDT on May 30, 2012